The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas

Character List

Themes, Motifs & Symbols

Edmond Dantès

Before his imprisonment, Edmond Dantès is a kind, innocent,
honest, and loving man. Though naturally intelligent, he is a man
of few opinions, living his life instinctively by a traditional
code of ethics that impels him to honor his superiors, care dutifully
for his aging father, and treat his fellow man generously. Dantès
is filled with positive feeling, admiring his boss, Monsieur Morrel;
loving his father; adoring his fiancée, Mercédès; and even attempting
to think kindly of men who clearly dislike him.

While in prison, however, Dantès undergoes a great change.
He becomes bitter and vengeful as he obsesses over the wrongs committed
against him. When his companion, Abbé Faria, dies, so too does Dantès’s
only remaining deep connection to another human being. Dantès loses
the capacity to feel any emotion other than hatred for those who
have harmed him and gratitude toward those who have tried to help
him. He moves through the world like an outsider, disconnected from
any human community and interested only in carrying out his mission
as the agent of Providence. It is not until Dantès finds love again,
in a relationship with Haydée, that he is able to reconnect to his
own humanity and begin to live humanly again.

Danglars

A greedy and ruthless man, Danglars cares only for his
personal fortune. He has no qualms about sacrificing others for
the sake of his own welfare, and he goes through life shrewdly calculating
ways to turn other people’s misfortunes to his own advantage.
Danglars’s betrayal of Dantès starts him on the path to utter disregard
for other people’s lives, but this betrayal is not the cruelest
of his acts. Danglars abandons his wife and attempts to sell his
own daughter, Eugénie, into a loveless and miserable marriage for
three million francs.

Though he manages to claw his way into a position of great wealth
and power, Danglars’s greed grows as he grows richer, and his lust
for money continues to drive all his actions in the two decades
that the novel spans. Even when faced with the prospect of starvation,
Danglars prefers to keep his fortune rather than pay an exorbitant
price for food. Finally, Danglars relents in his pathological avarice,
allowing that he would give all his remaining money just to remain
alive. Only after Danglars repents for the evil he has done does
Dantès consider Danglars redeemed and pardon him.

Mercédès

Resigned to the blows that fate deals her, Mercédès acts
as a foil to her onetime fiancé, Dantès. Though she is a good and
kind woman, her timidness and passivity lead her to betray her beloved
and marry another man, Mondego. Mercédès remains miserable for the
rest of her life, despising herself for her weakness and longing
for Dantès, whom she has never stopped loving. Yet, for all her
avowed weakness and fear, Mercédès proves herself capable of great
courage on three occasions: first, when she approaches Dantès to
beg for her the life of her son, Albert; second, when she reveals
her husband’s wickedness in order to save Dantès’s life; and third,
when she abandons her wealth, unwilling to live off a fortune that
has been tainted by misdeeds. At the end of the novel, Mercédès
is left with nothing to live for, aside from the hope that Albert
might somehow improve his own life. She is the character whose suffering
is the most complete, despite the fact that there are others who
bear far more guilt.

Caderousse

Caderousse exemplifies human dissatisfaction, helping
to illustrate that happiness depends more on attitude than on external
circumstances. Though fate—or, more precisely, Dantès—treats Caderousse
fairly well, he is never truly satisfied with his life. No matter how
much he has, Caderousse always feels that he deserves more. With
each improvement in his position, Caderousse’s desires only increase.
He is pained by the good fortune of his friends, and his
envy festers into hatred and ultimately into crime. Not only covetous
but also lazy and dishonest, Caderousse consistently resorts to
dishonorable means in order to acquire what he wants, thieving and
even murdering in order to better his own position. Ultimately,
Caderousse’s unending greed catches up with him, and he dies while
trying to rob Monte Cristo.

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